By Bob Ray Sanders
bobray@star-telegram.com
The staff and volunteers at Community Food Bank, located in Fort Worth's Riverside neighborhood, look "need" in the face every day.
They see it in the eyes of the 300 families, many with small children, who stream in daily requesting a supply of groceries from the food bank's well-stocked pantry. There's usually a line of people waiting before the doors open at 9 a.m. each weekday.
Many are working people who still have a hard time feeding their families, and have to seek help from this nonprofit agency, said Rudy Taylor, chief operations officer.
"Some are the working poor," he said. "They're making enough money that they don't qualify for food stamps, but don't have enough to get food."
Last month, Executive Director Regena Taylor received this e-mail:
"I am working as a social worker with Communities in Schools at Dunbar High School. I have a young woman that I work with who is hungry! I have encouraged mom to complete an application for food stamps (and Medicaid) and after several weeks, she finally brought in the paperwork to begin the process. In the meantime, this student has told me that she goes without food for a few days in a row (on Monday mornings, she is at my office first thing -- hungry)."
The social worker asked if she could bring the 17-year-old to the food bank with her mom's application and pick up some food for the family.
"We fill in the blanks for people who fall through the cracks," Regena Taylor said. "We help them."
Formerly known as Metroplex Food Bank, whose building was destroyed by fire in 2006, Community Food Bank has been operating out of its 40,000-square-foot facility since 2010. Until last year it was renting the building, complete with 20,000 square feet of freezer and refrigeration space. That's when the owners, Fresherized Foods, decided to donate the property to them.
The company vice president, Clay Bowden, said at the time that it "seemed like the right thing to do" because the food bank does "good work feeding the hungry. And we have been fortunate to be successful."
That was a blessing food bank staff didn't see coming, but it's one they're thankful for every day. In turn, they continue to pass along blessings to others.
Because of the facility's refrigeration capacity, needy families can receive meat, milk and eggs, along with canned goods and fresh fruits and vegetables. The organization also has a pet food pantry.
Clients' names are kept in a computer, and they can return every 14 days to receive help.
Rudy Taylor stresses that unlike some food banks that have ZIP code restrictions, Community Food Bank does not. And in addition to the pantry operation, it stores and supplies fresh produce for smaller pantries in the area as well as supplying food for 75 partner agencies.
The operation gets continuous donations of food. It regularly picks up products from 13 Wal-Mart stores in Dallas County and at Dallas-based Borden Dairy.
In addition, because three volunteer workers live on the property, it can collect donations any time of day or night.
But the organization is desperately in need of additional cash contributions. With the high price of gas, running large trucks to Dallas and Garland every day gets expensive.
While the huge refrigeration and freezer space is great for being able to supply meat products to clients, it comes with a high price. "Our average light bill every month is about $7,000," Rudy Taylor said.
In other words, they could use your help.
To donate online through a PayPal account, go to
www.food-bank.org. You can mail a contribution to Community Food Bank, 3000 Galvez Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76111. For more information, call 817-924-3333.
Bob Ray Sanders' column appears Sundays and Wednesdays.817-390-7775Twitter: @BobRaySanders
Looking for comments?
